'Hope for progress': UAE's Iranian expats vote for new president from Dubai, Abu Dhabi centres

The election is being held to choose the successor to former President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May

Waad Barakat

Published: Fri 28 Jun 2024, 7:46 PM

Last updated: Sun 30 Jun 2024, 6:32 PM

Iranian expats in the UAE cast their ballots in a crucial election to choose the successor to former President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.

According to the Iranian missions, there was a “good turnout” of expats on Friday to exercise their rights and shape the future of their country.

“Voting is important. This election is happening at a crucial time. We hope for stability and progress,” said an expat, who gave his name as Saleh.

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Iranian expats aged 18 years and above were eligible to vote at the Iranian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai, provided they brought their national identity card or passport. Special desks and counters were set up to facilitate a seamless voting process. Iranian residents deposited their ballots in a sealed box.

Iranian Ambassador Reza Ameri noted that the early presidential elections were held in about 95 other countries, including the UAE, where Iranian nationals were residing.

“In the UAE, there are about half a million Iranians, most of them of course in Dubai,” Ameri said. While there were two centres in the UAE, about 60,000 polling centres were set up outside Iran.

The ambassador explained that while voting is primarily conducted via paper ballots outside Iran, some areas have implemented electronic voting procedures.

“To this moment and this hour, participation and turnout in the elections has been good, and there are many Iranian residents who attended the polling stations and cast their votes in the ballot box,” Ameri noted.

The ambassador emphasised that the embassies and consulates abroad will not directly announce the final election results. “We report the results to the election centre in Iran, and after they have received all the results from all countries, the government will officially announce the results of the elections.”

Ameri stated that the polls opened at 8 am local time in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and closed at 6 pm.

While there was a decent turnout at the missions, there were expats who didn’t go out to vote. “I couldn’t go. I was at work. We have issues like lack of jobs, price rise, and political instability. We need good leaders. We hope things will change,” said an expat, who gave his name as Reza.

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